THESE THINGS I’VE FOUND INSPIRING, AND MAYBE YOU WILL TOO

“…what we respond to in any work of art is the artist’s struggle against his or her limitations”  – Saul Sternberg.

So I cannot remember where or why I read this quote.  Until two minutes ago, when I googled this quote to get it’s exact phrasing, I thought it was said by Kurt Vonnegut.  Turns out it was not, it was a quote by Saul Steinberg, as told by Kurt Vonnegut whom it was said to in a previous conversation.

 

So am I a big fan of Saul Steinberg? Or a fan of Vonnegut?  No. I’m not.  Well, that sounds negative. I’m just… removed from their work.  I’d like to read Vonnegut, but I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t read any of his novels.  I, until two minutes ago, had no idea who Saul Sternberg was (I have since googled him and am vaguely familiar with his most famous New Yorker cartoon, “View from the World at 9th Avenue.” But not of any of his other work).

 

So it’s weird that I would pick a quote from an artist I’m not passionate about… But GOD I love this quote. I have tons of limitations as a writer. I can’t spell, I don’t understand many of the rules of grammar, I get distracted. I get overwhelmed when I have to do research.  On and on and on.  And I used to think “I bet if I was as smart as _____ or as disciplined as _______ I’d be so much better. So much more successful. It’s just my dumb ol’ brain that’s holding me back because I’m not good enough.”

Reading this was the first time I realized that, “oh yeah, great artists don’t look at their own work and think, “Nailed it!”” They look at their own work and think “this is a mess, I wish I could re-do that part. That’s okay. That part works for most of it but then it falls apart.”  It’s just such a good thing to remember.  Any artist you admire, any piece of art that you think is perfect, is seen by its creator as messy, flawed, imperfect. Everyone, even geniuses, struggle against their own limitations. Even Saul Sternberg, who made this iconic New Yorker cover and probably thought it sucked.  

 

And knowing that makes me feel less alone.

THESE THINGS I’VE FOUND INSPIRING, AND MAYBE YOU WILL TOO

So this one’s from Ira Glass.

Radio host. Podcast impressario. Bespectacled nerdy everyman.

Most of the time I love This American Life.

Sometimes I find it a little pretentious or boring and can’t get through a whole episode.  But I feel like it has a 9 out of 10 ratio which is pretty good in my book!

Anyway, I don’t know where this is from, it sounds like it’s recorded from a live Q&A somewhere, but this little speech meant a lot to me.  You probably saw it floating around Facebook last year.  I don’t know who animated it, I don’t know anything about it, other than it was very reassuring to me as a writer.

And again, I wish someone had told me this when I was 18.  It might of seemed depressing at that age (I have to wait 7 years to be good), but it might of also been a relief (I don’t have to be good right now! I have have 7 years to figure this thing out).

Anyway, watch, get inspired, and if yo have the creative bug, keep working at it.

I

 

THESE THINGS I’VE FOUND INSPIRING, AND MAYBE YOU WILL TOO!

I’m trying the blog again folks!  We’ll see how it goes. 2016!

I’m gonna try a new series of inspiring quotes, videos, mantras or just random things I’ve come across that have kept me going over the years as a writer.  If it helps you, great!  If it doesn’t, well… that’s okay too. What helps me won’t necessarily help another person.

Any who, here’s my first entry.  This is from Conan Obrien’s last Tonight show that aired in 2010.  There are two things from this little speech that, for me, stand out.  One, “no one gets exactly what they wanted in life.”  I wish someone had told me this when I was 18.  Goals are good. Dreams are great. Drive and ambition are a necessity. But a life in the arts is incredibly unpredictable, and if you can maintain an open mind to what “success” is, you’ll be much much happier.

The other part I find inspiring is “if you work really hard, and your kind, amazing things will happen to you.”  Because sure, I’ve heard “work hard” before. You have to work hard, you have to put in the hours.  But I’ve never heard someone say “be kind,” as a piece of advice for someone who wants to be an artist.  And it should.  There is absolutely no reason to be a prick or mean to anyone. Whether its someone above you, below you, your colleagues, your competitors, there’s absolutely no need.  You may still be successful in spite of your prick-ishness but it’s just so exhausting to make enemies and resent people.  And in my experience that kind of behavior , 95% of the time, will eventually catch up with you.